One more sentimental journey before returning home

The party for my Aunt was a blast. It’s quite an accomplishment to reach your 80th year and my Aunt has done so in style. Happy 80th Claudine! Great to see my cousin Leigh and all her kids, and lots of other relatives including my mom and stepfather, three of my siblings and their families, and my 23 year old son August.
After the party, Peter and I drove to Ft. collins with my sister Bink and her family. I grew up in Ft. Collins but moved away almost 20 years ago. Two days and three nights sped by as we spent quality time with family. Seeing more of August was a highlight–as well as listening to some of the music he is making. I don’t get to see enough of him and it is always fun to see what he is up to.

Yesterday Peter and I flew back to New Hampshire. We live in a heavily forested area that is home to many wild animals. In addition to the myriad birds (everything from bluebirds to wild turkeys), we have seen fox, coyotes, deer, black bear, fisher cats and even a moose in our back yard. We have been gone for almost two weeks, and in our absence some of those animals have been attempting to homestead in our house. A bag of trash had been inadvertently left in the kitchen, and had birthed a herd of fruit flies. There was also a suspicious number of dead blowflies–meaning that one of those homesteaders was newly departed somewhere in our walls. A trail of unidentified scat led from the living room to my studio (mice or chipmunks?) and a bat had taken residence in the umbrella over the table on the deck. Time to evict them–but I can’t help but be impressed (and maybe even comforted) at nature’s ability to take back “civilization”.

This morning I picked wild blueberries and raspberries in our yard for breakfast. I am already missing my family in Texas and Colorado, but this is a beautiful home to return to.